Pharmacokinetic study demonstrates rapid elimination and widespread tissue distribution of Cocculus orbiculatus alkaloids in rats, indicating targeted gastrointestinal exposure.
Key Points
To develop a validated UHPLC-Q-trap-MS/MS method to quantify and evaluate the pharmacokinetic profiles and tissue distribution of four bioactive constituents from Cocculus orbiculatus extract in rats.
Developed a UHPLC-Q-trap-MS/MS analytical method using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) under positive and negative electrospray ionization modes.
Administered Cocculus orbiculatus extract intragastrically to Sprague-Dawley rats and quantified magnoflorine, oblongine, syringic acid, and laurifoline in plasma and eight organs (heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, prostate, intestine, stomach).
The assay demonstrated linearity (r > 0.999) and met biological sample validation standards without endogenous matrix interference in plasma and liver samples.
Magnoflorine, oblongine, and syringic acid were cleared rapidly from the systemic circulation, whereas laurifoline was eliminated slowly.
Magnoflorine, oblongine, and laurifoline distributed across all evaluated tissues with maximum accumulation in the stomach and intestine, whereas syringic acid was detected solely in the kidney and stomach.